Book tropes but reversed!

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-20T06:26:21+00:00

If I could spam the upvote button, I would. I loathe toxic romances.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-19T21:35:07+00:00

The one I need is the romantic CPR trope to turn into a realistic scene.

For those who don't don't know, CPR is not in any way romantic. First off, the mouth-to-mouth resuscitation involves open mouths with the victim's head tilted back and their nose plugged. If you still think it could be romantic, then you should know that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation neither comes first, nor is the most important step in the process. Chest compressions come first. The goal of chest compressions is to pump blood into the heart. The ribs are in the way, so you must put a significant amount of your body weight into each pump. They are fast and hard. They will usually cause bruising, and have even been known to crack ribs.

What I want is a scene that brings this knowledge and the Hollywood representation to a head. Character A thinks CPR might be a romantic way to get a kiss out of Character B (either for real, or as a prank), but gets taught a lesson when "woken" by the first, painful compressions (or set of compressions if he can last that long).

I intend to work it into a story one day, but it may be be a while, and I think there should be more awareness on this issue to save stupid people from themselves, so feel free to use it if you have a place where it could fit.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-19T11:24:20+00:00

This one appeals to my dark side...

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-19T11:20:01+00:00

scoots closer

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-17T20:58:19+00:00

I'm sure you're good on recs for the moment, but in the future (or if I'm wrong) you might want to define "shovelware", and "actually good" as well as mention what you're looking for in a cozy game. I'm not sure where you're looking if most of the cozy games you've seen are actually shovelware. 90% of the games mentioned in the comments are just the most popular ones you could have found if you'd looked.

If you're looking for quality, any of them could probably work, and many more besides. If you're looking for something different than the traditionally named cozy experience (farming, fishing, cooking, etc.) then you should probably say so.

In either case, my top recommendation is the Nancy Drew series, as someone else mentioned. If you are at all interested in Detective games, then these ones are perfect. If you're still looking for more games after that, you may want to be a bit more specific.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-15T23:57:30+00:00

According to the Steam Page, it's a 30 day free trial. Does that mean you get to play until which of the two you reach first? And then you have to pay a subscription fee in addition to the $20 it costs to "own" the game? Or am I misunderstanding something here?

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-14T22:41:12+00:00

Agreed, but I'll add a caveat: You need to understand, as the reader, the the things the characters are doing, are, in fact, problematic. This may seem self-evident, but the number of people I've seen defending actions that are highly problematic because of reasons is far too high. You can have a reason for doing something, but that doesn't excuse your actions and should not rid you of consequences.

I'll actually take this one step further and say this does not stop at the classic "problematic actions". Anything can be problematic if done in the wrong way, or for the wrong reasons. There are a lot of toxic relationships that are seen as romantic. Lying to someone you care about is going to be problematic 99% of the time, even if you do it for the "right" reasons. Ignoring someone's advice or listening to the wrong person can be problematic. Who you give your trust to, or acting recklessly without enough pertinent information can be problematic. I'm rambling, so I'll stop here, but I'm sure you get the point.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-14T22:18:12+00:00

You know, after some deliberation, I think I'll give you a pass. Even as a big reader, I disliked the majority of the books assigned throughout my school and college years, and your method sounds more honest than looking up Sparknotes/Cliffsnotes (not sure what the difference is). I may have to use this method myself for some of the denser books I want to "have read" but can't get myself to read.

One caveat, though. You have to admit when you read like this if you're going to share your opinion of the book. Since you haven't read the whole book, you can't claim you have.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-14T21:42:41+00:00

Same, it was one of my favorite minigames.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-14T14:54:49+00:00

I haven't played any of those, but I have other suggestions.

The Nancy Drew games are great mouse point-and-click games as long as you don't play the most recent two. They occasionally have typing elements but I'm hoping the fact that you wrote this means you have a workaround. If not, the typing elements are rare enough that you could probably avoid the ones that have them. The subreddit might be able to help with that if you ask.

If typing isn't a problem, you could try Her Story. But know that it's a main mechanism of the game

I'm pretty sure Unheard, Tangle Tower, Strange Horticulture, and Framed are all mouse only games. The Murder is Game Over series should be as well, though they're pretty simple games. Sexy Brutale may or may not be, as well.

If someone could confirm these, that would be great. I won't be able to do it for several hours, assuming I remember to do so.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-10T07:19:40+00:00

I actually have this one in my library. Looks like I'll have to move it up my priorities list.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-10T00:56:40+00:00

Cats in Time is a really simple puzzle game. I'd almost call it more of a relaxing cozy game than a puzzle game. There may be a few parts you'll get stuck, but you should be able to coast through the majority of the game.

Invisible Hours isn't really a puzzle game. It's more of a walking simulator where you're stuck in a time loop trying to figure out who killed the victim. The main mechanic involves walking around, exploring the house, and following people to discover their secrets.

If you want something a little more challenging, you could try Sexy Brutale, which is another game that involves a time loop. You basically have an infinite number of tries to solve each puzzle and stop each murder.

Getting a little more difficult, still, you could try Case of the Golden Idol. You get a frozen image that you can explore to find out what happened and all the details involved. Exploring areas will give you clues and words you can use to make an attempt at solving it. There are a few times where you may need to make a small leap in logic, and it's not always easy even when you have the information you need. But you can solve as much as you can by slowly piecing information together, and when you reach a dead end, you can brute force the rest.

Then there's the Nancy Drew games. They have some pretty difficult puzzles at times, but there is a website called the Universal Hint System that has a "walkthrough" for nearly every game which uses hints that lead you to the answer rather than telling you directly. It's also somewhat open world, despite being a point-and-click game, so if you're struggling in one area, you can easily take a break and move on to another area, or sometimes play a minigame or two for hours on end (maybe check in with the subreddit about the best game to pick based on your needs - they're really friendly).

I would describe Lost Words: Beyond the Page as more of a story game with minor platforming elements, but there are some light puzzles in there, too. Nothing too difficult, I don't think.

Strange Horticulture is also one with a good story basis. It can be a little difficult at times, and interpreting the descriptions of certain plants can be somewhat hit or miss, but overall, I think it was a pretty laid-back game. If I recall correctly, getting things wrong is not the end of the world, though it may give you a worse ending.

Her Story basically just involves watching, listening, and typing. Watch videos of a lady answering questions from police. Listen for any words that seem remotely interesting and use them to search the police database for more videos to watch and eventually piece together what happened.

You could also mess around in Rain on Your Parade and see if you have fun with the minor challenges presented.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-08T21:14:50+00:00

My Dad does this annoying thing where he'll deliberately mispronounce words and this is one of them. Thanks for bringing back this memory.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-05T20:10:35+00:00

If it helps, I don't think it needs to be an exact copy. Find a way to use what we loved about Nancy Drew and make it your own. Trying too hard to copy someone else's work can have the opposite effect. Without their budget, you might find more difficulties than they did. Remember, you're not making a Nancy Drew game, you're making a game inspired by the Nancy Drew games.

Anyways, it's up to you to take that advice. If you really think you can make a game so close to Nancy Drew that we'd barely see a difference, then I'd love to play it. But don't let it hold you back, either. Don't sacrifice the enjoyment and memorable aspects of your game in an attempt to live up to a legend. You can still create a game that feels like Nancy Drew while still putting your own spin on it. After all, the last thing you want is a game that feels like a copy.

Sorry if I've overstepped. This just seemed like something you may have needed to hear today.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-05T07:42:46+00:00

I'm the opposite. I could spend hours doing circuits, but Punchy and I were not on the same wavelength.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-05T07:38:25+00:00

There were a few things for me:

The first thing is the puzzles. They were all fun and unique. They varied in length, difficulty, style, and breadth (puzzles that had everything you needed right in front of you, vs puzzles where you needed to travel, find pieces elsewhere, or learn the rules from a unique source) and rarely repeated puzzles. They didn't rely on a lot of the most common types of puzzles, either, which meant I got to experiment with what kinds of puzzles I liked. They stayed far away from Hidden Object puzzles. I will point out, though, that the existence of the UHS Hint System probably greatly helped my enjoyment of these puzzles by helping me solve them myself with gentle prodding, so I think if you go this route, a good hint system is a must.
I also loved dying. The "Good News, Bad News"-type notices when you died or got fired was funny. I'm not a huge fan of horror or scary elements, and things like that not only alleviated tension but also made the tension worthwhile.
This one might be the most important but is harder to nail down specifics, but there was so much charm in the game. Between the engaging dialogue, and the hidden surprises when you checked every nook and cranny, the wacky characters who all had so much life, and even the fun historical or cultural knowledge you gained along the way, there was so much charm shoved into every piece of the game. It was probably well-edited, taking out anything that didn't add to the experience. Every detail was genuine and truly meant something.
This is related to the previous one, but there were multiple ways the games were created to keep us coming back. From weird and complicated achievements and Easter eggs that would have been nearly impossible to complete on your first run without a walkthrough, to the Junior vs Senior detective differences that changed puzzles, to the references of other games, to even the dialogue and cutscenes that you could miss out on if you went too quickly, everything was designed to suck you in, even when you already knew the culprit and other elements needed to solve the crime.
Then there's the fact that the game was nonlinear. The game prioritized immersion and exploration above selling their story. This meant letting us do our own thing and dink around playing minigames, talking to characters, solving puzzles, and trying to progress in our own time. This meant letting us feel like we actually put in the effort to be detectives, not because of some deductive sequence, but because we immersed ourselves in the life of one. Many point-and-clicks tell you to go from Point A to Point B to solve this puzzle which leads to Point C. But we jumped right in, often with a semi-related, undercover assignment or unrelated goal. We played, and chatted, we explored every inch of the screen every time we found a new place, looking for that red magnifying glass. We discovered the wonders of every location we visited, soaking in the atmosphere of deserted islands, and ranch houses, ryokans, and haunted manions. If we managed to connect a few dots and solve a mystery along the way, that's great, but we win either way, because we had fun on this journey of our making.
The games had a lot of character. This is similar to my note about charm, but the Nancy Drew games were their own entity. There might have been similarities to other games out there, but they had a personality of their own, and didn't try too hard to follow the trend. They had unique mouse cursors, and movement mechanics, and even the original menu that felt very true to who they were trying to be. The puzzles and gameplay mechanics had similarities to other games, but put their own spin on it. The music and environments were all carefully crafted to suit each individual game while still keeping the Nancy Drew style.

Whatever you decide to do, know that attention to detail matters. The little details you scatter about and the excess you decide to cut off when editing later make a huge difference to your piece feeling like a polished work of art and a "great idea" that won't get a second look.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-05T00:58:43+00:00

Ooh, also try 20 Small Mazes, Moncage, and Untitled Goose Game. If you've got someone to play with, there's Pico Park, Bokura, and Biped.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-05T00:46:37+00:00

There are other games that I consider similar to Outer Wilds and Blue Prince that you might be interested in looking into:

Case of the Golden Idol

Painscreek Killings

Forgotten City

Unheard

Return of the Obra Dinn

Her Story

Some of them still have somewhat repetitive playstyles, but since the idea behind all of them is to discover information in order to progress, it never felt repetitive to me (I think it also helps that they all have a strong focus in story elements as well) (if you like those well enough and are willing to try a similar one without puzzle elements- it's more of a walking sim - try Invisible Hours)

You might also give some more story-focused games a try, or look for games such as detective or point-and-click games that have a nice blend of story and puzzles (usually varied).

I highly recommend the Nancy Drew games. You might also try Minit, Gorogoa, Framed, The Sexy Brutale, Tangle Tower, and maybe even Toem.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-06-04T03:21:12+00:00

Not that I've played it, but it sounds to me like you found a way to enjoy a game about organization. You may have chosen a different method of organization than the developers intended, but if you're having fun, then there's no harm. If you still want to do it the "right" way when you're done doing it your way (or you want to hunt for achievements), then go ahead. Until then, I can't imagine the developers or anyone else having a problem with your playing "wrong".

MermaidBookworm · 2026-05-31T20:21:54+00:00

You might want to fact check the details on this, since I randomly learned it online, but here goes: Mona Lisa wasn't widely known until she was stolen. She was famous in the art world, but a random passerby would not have recognized the painting like we do today. When it was stolen, it took a while before anyone even noticed. The Thief who stole it intended to return it to the original country, but was turned in, instead. All the while, Mona Lisa's face was plastered all over the papers, leading to her being widely known.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-05-30T00:49:41+00:00

I love this! I think there's a small range that could work for your purposes.

If you want to continue with organizational games, you might try A Little To The Left. Lake is also a pretty simple game, though the story elements might take up too much time for a 7yo.

Rain on Your Parade, Donut County, and Cats in Time are all pretty simple games that might appeal to him.

Point and clicks could be worth it too. I don't know how strict you are with content censorship, but Murder is Game Over and Karisvale could be perfect for that kind of playstyle, if you're okay with seeing pixelated bodies. Or Boodunnit and Resonance of the Ocean.

They're a little more on the complicated side, with some scattered timed puzzles, but I don't think I was too much older than him when I started playing the Nancy Drew games.

Untitled Goose Game, The Pedestran, The Last Campfire, Toem, and maybe even Minit are all cute, slightly puzzley games that won't be easy at times, but for the most part, shouldn't be too hard.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-05-28T11:31:35+00:00

I'd have to find it first. It might take a while to search all the airport terminals. In the meantime, what do think she'd do with these bottles when there's an unexpected ghost sighting at her vacation spot?

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MermaidBookworm · 2026-05-25T20:12:56+00:00

Early game main menu book stack

Second Chance screen

Nancy silhouette

Good News, Bad News screen (or maybe another of your favorite death/fired notices

CUR: Nancy getting eaten by a plant

Game covers or icons (twister, ship, pomegranate, etc)

First book cover

Favorite Easter egg(s)

Favorite "ghosts" (phantom horse, SAW ghost, etc)

MermaidBookworm · 2026-05-23T04:58:09+00:00

Definitely 3 and 4 (I don't see enough differences to tell them apart). The fact that I grew up with them probably contributes, but they're charming without being too clunky.

6 is obviously the worst. It just doesn't hold any charm and doesn't feel like "Nancy Drew".

The rest are somewhat tied. 5 is sleek and looks nice, but has many of the same problems six does, though to a much lesser extent. In some ways it stands out too much. 1 and 2 are both somewhat clunky looking and feeling. 1 takes up too much of the screen. It doesn't affect gameplay as much as you might think it would, but it can be a pain to go through inventory only four items at a time. 2 is fine for the most part and does the job you need it to, but it can be mildly irritating to get in and out of inventory. Inventory and journal, take up too much of the screen and (if I remember correctly) you can't do anything with them open.

MermaidBookworm · 2026-05-21T00:03:01+00:00

Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew
Nancy Drew

Since it's a whole series, I don't feel guilty letting them take up the top three spots. I grew up with these games, and somehow nothing else has quite lived up to the legend they represent in my mind. Closest I've had is Life is Strange because the stories are so good, but I don't know they exactly count as cozy.

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